x

Loading data...

x

Loading data...

After a no-holds barred battle that raged for a few months in the corridors of power as well as in the world of Twitter, the quadricycle has got the government nod to ply on Indian roads.

Rajiv Bajaj , managing director of Bajaj Auto, was vindicated when a specially convened inter-ministerial group (IMG) on Wednesday approved the lightweight four-wheel vehicle to be used as public transport vehicles within city limits.

Bajaj is ecstatic — with good reason, as his case has prevailed against that of heavyweights such as Tata Motors managing director Karl Slym and TVS Motor CMD Venu Srinivasan who argued that quadricycles should follow the same safety norms as applicable to passenger cars. In an email interview with ET, Bajaj talks about his plans for quadricycles. Edited Excerpts:

How do you view the development? Hasn't it vindicated your stance?

This is a wonderful day for Indian automotive innovation. The RE60 (Bajaj's Quadricycle) will soon be joined by many more similarly small, light, & low speed vehicles that will make for a cleaner, safer, quieter world. As an anti-car company, we're just delighted.

Is it a half victory of sorts as the quadricycle can be used only for commercial use and within municipal limits?

A door always opens a crack before it opens wide. Eventually, a fourwheeler will have to be permitted to be owned and driven in a manner that's at least equal to twowheelers and three-wheelers.

While you were in the forefront fighting for quadricycles, do you expect other opponents to join the fray with their own versions of quadricycles. Would this cannibalise Bajaj Auto's profitable three-wheeler sales?

In a free market, competition is everywhere. If we can lead threewheelers, there's every reason to believe that we can do the same with four-wheelers, especially when we are already first in the mind of the customer.

I expect that both three- and four-wheelers will co-exist. We will shortly unveil an all-new range of three-wheelers — more green, more fuel efficient, more powerful, more comfortable, more reliable —to enhance our global leadership.